Coldplay in secret Liverpool gig

Band flags up crisis of hidden homelessness

COLDPLAY will perform an intimate “hidden gig” in Liverpool, next month, to draw attention to the problem of homelessness.

In one of only two live British performancea of 2010, the band have agreed to play here to raise money for Crisis, the national charity for single homeless people.

It takes place on 19 December and £50-a-pop tickets will go on sale at 2pm this Friday (12 November).

The plan is to highlight awareness of the situation facing thousands of homeless people who are hidden from the statistics because they live on mates' floors or sofas, or in substandard bed and breakfasts, and hostels.

Supporting Coldplay will be the Choir with No Name, a vocal group made up of homeless people and others on the fringes of society, including clients of Crisis.

General tickets will only be available to people who have a Liverpool billing address, and the place to buy them is www.crisis.org.uk.

Leslie Morphy, Chief Executive of Crisis, said: “To have the backing of Coldplay brings something unique to Crisis this Christmas. We know that their support and millions of fans will help shine a light on the thousands of hidden homeless people we strive to help year round who are all too often forgotten – particularly at Christmas when we know the pain of homelessness can be particularly acute.”

The somewhere-in-Liverpool venue will remain hidden until 24 hours before Coldplay step on stage. The charity says this gives gig-goers a small taste of the uncertainty faced by the thousands of homeless people who do not know where they will spend the night.

For those rather more fortunate, financially speaking anyway, 30 “meet-and-greet” tickets will also be auctioned for the gig. They will include early entry, champagne reception, best seats in the house, meet and greet with Coldplay, photo opportunity and access to VIP bar.

The venue has been hand picked by the happy chappies for its intimate nature, with a capacity of around 1,000 people.

Will concert-goers find themselves taking a short trip out of town on an 18A bus with Croxteth Park on the front, come December 19? Only time will tell.

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